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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: drill · land · chest · current · prune · swing · ball · firm

  1. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  12. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  13. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. chest — of your body
  3. firm — a company
  4. chest — a box
  5. chest — of your body
  6. swing — to play on
  7. land — ground
  8. land — a country
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. firm — steady
  12. firm — decided
  13. current — electric
  14. prune — to trim
  15. drill — a practice
  16. current — happening now
  17. current — of water
  18. prune — to trim
  19. ball — a dance
  20. drill — the tool
  21. swing — in golf
  22. drill — army training
  23. land — to come down
  24. swing — music

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com